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Kiwi expat Mike Dobson in Zion National Park, Utah, with his children.
OPINION: I am an expatriate Kiwi Shepherd who has resided in various parts of the United States for almost 20 years, but my family has called Oregon home for the last 14 years. We live in a small college town that is a liberal-leaning bubble, but is surrounded by conservative sloping rural land commonly known as Trump Country.
We consider ourselves very fortunate to live in this state for a number of reasons. But when my wife and I posted our ballots last week, we were especially grateful that, unlike most states, we didn’t have to queue for countless hours on a weekday to do so, unlike so many millions. from other voters. in this deeply divided country.
Four years ago I was shocked that millions of voters in this country saw Donald Trump as the great savior from America’s ills. However, if he cared about removing the clear coat, his name has always been a facade of deception, atrocity, and moral and fiscal corruption.
However, his followers are partially reflected in Trump, they hear him vocalize thoughts that align with theirs. Thoughts that not only reflect your worst fears, but include ridicule for the weak, the disabled, the poor, the migrants.
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Trump has consistently perpetrated attacks on truth, science and integrity, the media and anyone who opposes him. He has encouraged / demanded willful ignorance both in the public and in his cowering Republican Party.
The United States is in a darker place because of Donald Trump, the multitude of conspiracies spewing at the right-wing media and his staunch supporters, many of whom believe that the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change are hoaxes.
Seriously, would the kiwis have done business with this man? (Most American banks refuse to do so.) You certainly wouldn’t pass a background check for a school principal position on principle alone, in fact you might have a hard time passing most background checks for any position of responsibility.
KTNV / AP
Angry Donald Trump supporters converged on vote counting centers calling for the counting to be stopped, while protesters in other parts of the country call for every ballot to be counted.
My wife mentioned when she was elected that the vast majority of Kiwis would never have voted for a Trump and I strongly believe in this.
Yesterday, a friend sent me a news article with a headline that said Oregon was among the five states at “high risk” for militia activity around this election. Take a minute to think about that. This is a country where 45 of its 50 states allow guns to be carried openly by a generally unexamined public.
I have lost count of the number of times I have found myself standing in a public place and seeing armed members of the public all around me. It’s worrying to think that the total number of guns in your neighborhood is actually impossible to count, as you can apply for concealed gun permits in this country, a country where every gun shooter is a hero … until the objective begins. shooting up.
A country that is seeing heavily armed groups appear at rallies and protests. A country where armed groups have stormed the state capitol buildings in protest at the apparent violation of their rights. A country that has seen an increase in violence and threats to public figures in the last four years. A country that has a horrible history of mass shootings.
Sadly, the United States will see more of this aggravation and intentional violence in the days and months ahead. Regardless of who wins this shockingly close election, an election in which Trump increased his support base despite the US recording wild numbers of Covid cases and 750,000 people filing for unemployment last week, there will still be tens of millions. of people and a republican party that supports Trump and his facade of ideals.
I find it increasingly difficult not to look down on some of its base, the Republican Party and their collective refusal to decipher fact from fiction, right from wrong, right from wrong.
I read these articles on how one can open discussions with people from opposite parties, but what they don’t take into account is that animosity is not based on different philosophies, but on fact against fiction, honesty against deception, truth against lies, Fox News. v almost every other major news agency.
When you can no longer agree on facts, data, evidence, common decency, and the definition of integrity, where is the self-help guide on it?
America is in a dark place that will not find the healing it so desperately requires in the coming year.
